10 Fun, Rare and Unusual Facts about Lizards
Lizards may not be the smartest creatures on Earth, but they’re certainly one of the most resilient. Lightning-fast reaction, cunning, and the ability to survive the cold in hibernation – all this makes them perfectly adapted to survive in a variety of conditions.
There are many different types of lizards in the world — beautiful and not very, dangerous and harmless. For some, these cold-blooded creatures cause sympathy and affection, for others-irrational fear. In any case, it is impossible not to agree that lizards are really amazing creatures and in many ways unlike all other inhabitants of the Earth.
1. Legless Lizards
In the United States and Mexico, there are unique legless lizards, of which there are also only two species. Outwardly, they are indistinguishable from snakes, unless you are an expert. They are not dangerous at all, and they spend most of their lives underground.
2. Lizard’s tail
Many species of lizards, in case of danger, can throw off part of the tail to hide from the enemy. If the enemy retreated, the lizard can return and eat its tail, as it contains a lot of nutrients. Over time, the tail grows back, but it will be shorter than the lost one.
3. Lizard’s eyesight
Lizards see the world around them in orange tones due to the peculiarities of the structure of the retina. Note that most animals see the world in black and white.
4. The Smallest Lizard
The smallest lizards in the world — round-toed geckos, which in nature there are two species that live in the New World. The size of adults is usually between 1.5 and 2 centimeters, and the weight does not exceed 0.2 grams, which is ten times less than the weight of the hummingbird-bee, the smallest bird on Earth.
5. The Largest Lizard
The largest lizard in the world is the Komodo lizard, reaching a length of more than 3 meters and a weight of more than 130 kg. These powerful and aggressive creatures appeared about 4 million years ago and have not changed much since then. Now they are found only in Indonesia, but previously existed in Australia. In Indonesia, a separate Komodo National Park was even created to protect this species.
6. Powerful Lizards
Geckos are able to hold a weight on their paws that significantly exceeds their own – a lizard weighing 50 grams can hold a two-kilogram object. Representatives of this species during a drought are able to accumulate moisture from the air before their eyes, and then lick it off so as not to die of thirst.
7. Frilled-neck lizards
The Frilled-neck lizard, which lives in Australia and New Guinea, is interesting for its appearance and behavior. In the case of a meeting with an opponent, it stands on its hind legs and opens its huge collar, while pretending to run at the opponent, trying to scare him. If such a psychological attack does not bring the desired result, the reptile runs for its life, and it usually runs away on its hind legs, too, and not on all four.
8. Horned lizards
Some horned lizards, finding themselves in a desperate situation, can shoot at the enemy with their own blood. Blood is ejected from the corners of the animal’s eyes at a distance of up to one and a half meters.
9. Common basilisk
A well-known lizard that can run on water is the common basilisk, and it moves slightly faster on the water surface than on the ground (12 km/h versus 11 km/h). The officially registered record of the distance that the basilisk ran on the water is just over 500 meters. At the same time, these reptiles are not afraid to plunge, as they swim perfectly, and can hold their breath for 20-30 minutes.
10. Cordylidae lizards
Cordylidae lizards bite its own tail in case of an attack with all their might, forming a ring that can not be opened.
Summary
So we learned 10 fun facts about lizards that I’m sure you haven’t heard before. If you want to know more interesting facts about big pandas, click here.
